Bangalore: Minister for Forests and Environment C. Chennigappa on Thursday accused some of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Bellary district, led by Janardhan Reddy, MLC, who heads the district unit, of conspiring against him because he had taken measures to check illegal mining.

Mr. Reddy's allegation that he had collected Rs. 150 crore from those engaged in illegal mining and handed the money over to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy should be seen in that light.

Speaking to presspersons here, the Minister alleged that Mr. Reddy was the `benami' owner of a mine on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border in Bellary district. The Karnataka High Court had passed orders curbing mining and he had only enforced them, he said.

Explaining the measures he had taken to curb illegal mining in that district, Mr. Chennigappa said that for the first time check-posts were set up on all routes used for transporting iron ore. He had tightened the functioning of his department and ordered a Lokayukta investigation into the extent of illegal mining on forest land. The measures had directly affected what he termed "Mr. Reddy's illegal mining activities."

The department had collected a penalty of nearly Rs. 3 crore in four months from those engaged in unauthorised mining, he said.

`Make tapes public'

Challenging the BJP MLC to make public the video or audiotapes purportedly exposing his role in the "bribery case," Mr. Chennigappa said he would not hesitate to resign if the charges were proved.

The transfer of Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar Thakur from Bellary had made Mr. Reddy and the others even angrier with him, the Minister said.

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